Our clinic on college football officiating continues with a look at one of the most controversial plays from this past weekend.
In the first overtime against Kentucky, the Gators found themselves down an initial score. Facing fourth and seven from the nine yard line, Florida comes up with their version of a sacred play to score and continue the contest… and, ultimately continue their streak against the Wildcats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uujaFqY62U4
Charles: I worked a lot of back judge for high school football which meant it was my responsibility to keep track of the play clock and call delay of game penalties. In high school we kept the play clock on a watch as most high school fields in Michigan didn’t have a play cock on the scoreboard and frankly, I’m not sure we would trust the clock operator to keep it properly. The general mechanic for this was that I would keep an eye on my watch while also looking for the offense to snap the ball. If the watch hit zero, I would look at the center to make sure that he hadn’t snapped the ball and then throw the flag if he hadn’t. This extra check didn’t take long but it did introduce a fraction of a second delay between the play clock hitting zero and me calling the penalty.
In the case of the play in the Florida-Kentucky game, it seems like this is likely what happened. The official saw the play clock (in college the officials normally use the play clock in the stadium) hit zero and then looked back at the center which meant there was a small delay. There wasn’t much time between the expiration of the play clock and Florida snapping the ball and the official likely missed the call due to the delay in looking down from the clock. Unfortunately there isn’t much that can be done to avoid this situation other than to allow the officials to use replay to determine if the ball was snapped on time.
On a side note, if I was officiating that game the Kentucky coach likely would have gotten a flag thrown at him for running out on the field, past the numbers, to argue the call.
WVa: I work back judge currently and agree Charles. Interesting that I’ve seen articles suggesting NFL start using lasers to determine down and distance, whether the ball was snapped in time and for field goals and goal lines. It’s crazy where this could be heading…
Charles: Lasers could work on field goal tries above the uprights. In terms of down and distance, as soon as a laser can pass through a pile of bodies without leaving a smoking hole in them, I’ll consider it.
Chris’s comment did give me an idea regarding using technology to fix issues like this. With the delay of game penalty, the problem is the delay in looking from the play clock to the center. I saw a fan in a comment section of one of the articles about the delay of game suggest that stadiums use buzzers like in basketball, the issue with that is good luck getting that heard in Ohio Stadium in a game against Michigan when the crowd is going nuts.
However, this is an area where Google glass or something like that could help. Have the back judge wear Google glass set up to have the game and play clock in the corners, allowing him to keep his eye on the center the entire time. No delay in looking down from the clock.
Time keeps on ticking…
OK Buckeye: Interesting play this week that we are reviewing. Delay of game is a penalty that seems very simple and easy to enforce. The ball is either snapped before the play clock hits :00 or it is not. In an effort to have consistency throughout the collegiate game, specific mechanics and philosophies are in play at a national level. First, a look at the relevant rules:
3.4.2.a Illegal Delay of the Game- The officials shall make the ball ready for play consistently throughout the game. The play clock will start its count-down from either 40 seconds or 25 seconds, by rule depending on circumstances. A foul for illegal delay occurs if the play clock is at :00 before the ball is put in play. Delay of game is enforced as 5 yards from the succeeding spot, repeat the down.
Mechanics. All crew members have responsibility to ensure that the game is timed correctly. The Back Judge has primary responsibility for managing the play clock and for determining whether or not a legal snap or a delay of game violation has occurred.
Philosophy: National collegiate philosophy clearly states the following on managing delay of game. The back judge is to monitor the play clock. If the play clock hits zero, the back judge will immediately look to the ball. If the ball is moving when the back judge looks to the ball, there is no delay of game. If the ball remains stationary, then it is a delay of game violation.
Given these facts, lets analyze how this crew handled the situation.
First, let’s understand that officials are to penalize teams only when a clear advantage is gained by a violation of the rules. No one wants to see a game with 60-75 flags which is the number f violations of the rules that occurs in many games. On top of that, the national philosophy on delay of game is set up to minimize as much as possible this penalty from being called. There is no different standard on delay of game in quarter 1 as compared to quarter 4 or OT.
The standard is clear, the philosophy is clear, and the philosophy is shared annually with all coaches (whether or not they can bother themselves to read and understand the rules is another matter all together). So, in this case I think this SEC crew handled this in an almost text book fashion. The snap is clearly begun by the time the back judge could get his eyes from the play clock to the snapper. It was almost instantaneous.
Had this play been flagged as a delay of game, Will Muschamp would have went crazy like a fourth Stoops brother and asked for an official explanation from the SEC. AND, most importantly, this back judge would have been down graded on his review- more than one or two downgrades in a year can have serious consequences to future assignments, post season eligibility, and continued eligibility to officiate at the highest levels.
Officials make mistakes, but never in college football have we had a more consistent set of philosophies and the technology (film, etc.) to review, evaluate, and train officials to call violations as directed. This crew got it right.
After further review- The SEC agreed with our experts, and Kentucky’s winless streak in conference continues:
At the request of the University of Kentucky, consistent with SEC protocol, the conference office reviewed the fourth down play in the first overtime of the Kentucky-Florida game and has determined the officials applied the proper mechanics and guidelines that are in place to determine when a flag should be thrown for delay of game. The back judge is responsible for delay of game calls. The procedure for the back judge is for his eyes to stay on the clock when it nears zero. When the clock hits zero, he immediately looks from the clock to the ball. If the ball is moving, there is no delay of game. If the ball is stationary, a delay of game penalty is called.